9/11 Memorial: A "Perfect Design"

A decade after the 9/11 attacks, two gaping voids still sit in the ground where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once loomed. But today the towers’ footprints are filled with reflecting pools and waterfalls, in what is now the 9/11 Memorial.

Visualization by Squared Design Lab

Bronze parapets engraved with the 2,983 names of those who perished in the ’93 WTC bombings and at the hands of terrorists on September 11, 2001 wrap around the pools. The names of the victims are listed not in alphabetical order, but in “meaningful adjacencies” that reflect where they were, their affiliations, or personal relationships (as requested by their surviving loved ones). The plaza that holds the pools is a grove of swamp white oak trees, an urban forest that symbolizes life and rebirth.

The memorial’s look is the result of an international competition, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has hailed architects Michael Arad and Peter Walker’s winning submission as the ”perfect design.” The void, he says, does not tell visitors what happened or what they should think, but challenges them and gets them to reflect. Though the memorial is not officially open to the public until tomorrow, our hearts and thoughts are with everyone touched by the tragedy, and we are reflecting today.

Thank you for posting this. Living on the west coast we are not close geographically but we are close spiritually. My heart and prayers go out to those that lost a loved one to this horrible event. I heard a great message this morning from our pastor, "You don't get over grief, You get through it", Rick Warren. It's so true. We don't forget our loved ones and how we lost them. But we do get through it. God Bless to all.

[...] I wanted to write this post about the memorial which now sits at Ground Zero. Up until today, I’ll admit, I wasn’t real sure what it was going to look like. I saw glimpses of it this morning, as families traced over their loved ones names with pencil and paper and as children traced their mother and father’s names with their fingers. Each person I saw put their hand on the names of their lost loved one and let it linger there for a while. A beautiful memorial to loved ones lost. To read about the memorial, head on over to HGTV’s blog, here. [...]

It's hard to speak of beauty among such tragedy but I'm thankful it has been completed (as a place of solace and closure for the victims and their families, and all of us affected) and I find it a fitting memorial. It's absolutely gorgeous and must be a spectacular, highly emotional sight up-close (it was emotional enough seeing it from a television screen). A void speaks volumes doesn't it? And the water falling makes me think of the countless tears that have been shed since that day and will continue to be shed in memory, forever.

I would love to visit this memorial, there is nothing like being there to get the 'gist'., YET..there is something just "eery" and not right, about leaving those "footprints" open like that, its a constant reminder, like dredging up a painful memory..contrary to healing. WHY? constantly sprinkle salt over an open wound? The ambiance that was being sought by this balance of nature/concrete/water could've still been had by mere water features perhaps smaller and different in shape. WHY in the same footprints? Its almost SICK!

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Briana MowreyBriana is a writer and senior editor for HGTV.com. Her self-described design style is "mid-century modern magpie." She lives in a Brooklyn apartment with her husband, their spoiled dachshund, Chauncey,...